dakota said:
Gretzky was the salary cap in his day... nobody would dare request to make more than him... and your facts are not right
Jan. 27, 1979 - 18-year-old Gretzky signs a 21-year, $5 million personal services contract with the Oilers, the longest contract in sports history at that time.
Jan. 20, 1982 - Gretzky signs 21-year deal that would pay him $20 million in 15 years. Deal includes an Edmonton shopping mall
http://slam.canoe.ca/Gretzky/gretzlist.html
http://slam.canoe.ca/GretzkyHall/nov22_zeisberger.html
why is it the pot calling the kettle black?
Sorry, obviously the place I got my information from didn't include his entire career.
http://www.hockeyzoneplus.com/searc...ies-test.txt&key2=1363&action=searchdbdisplay
GRETZKY, WAYNE
Season Salary ($US) $ Increase % Inc.
1989-90 1,720,000 $
1990-91 3,000,000 $ 1,280,000 74%
1991-92 3,000,000 $ - $
1992-93 3,000,000 $ - $
1993-94 3,000,000 $ - $
1994-95 6,540,028 $ 3,540,028 $ 118% Players' Strike: 48 out of 84 games played. Most players only received +/- 58% of the amount listed.
1995-96 6,545,400 $ 5,372 $ 0%
1996-97 3,963,000 $ (2,582,400) $ -39%
1997-98 6,500,000 $ 2,537,000 $ 64%
1998-99 6,000,000 $ (500,000) $ -8%
1999-00 - $ - $
2000-01 - $ - $
2001-02 - $ - $
2002-03 - $ - $
2003-04 - $ - $
Total
1989-2004 43,268,428 $ Total fortune accumulated from 1989 to 2004
So you add another $20M to the fortune. And my point was that he was one of the hightest paid players in the league at the time and never seemed to mind taking the huge pay increases. Wayne has always and always will be about making money, but now that he's an owner all the sudden the players are paid too much. Yet in his last season '99 he was paid $6M when the high average team payroll was in the $40M range.
Yet you guys complain that a player like Chris Pronger who makes $10M isn't worth half of that or a player like Eddie Belfour is overpaid , even though he backstopped the Stars to a Stanley Cup in '99 and has stood on his head in Toronto, has won 2 Vezina's, 4 Jennings, 1 calder and 1 Crozier award, or a player like Sakic, Iginla or Thorton are all just greety little bastards and don't play for the love of the game anymore. I don't recall Wayne playing for the love of the game either, he played for his $6M paycheck.
Paying that kind of money was fine for Wayne when he was the reapping the benefits, but now that he is the one signing the checks he looks at it a little different and thats why its the pot calling the kettle black.
Same with Mario. Even though his Penguins have no money and have had to trade players away season after season as a salary dump, he continues to draw his $5.25M salary and then plays only a handful of games. If Mario was so concerned about a salary cap why is drawing that kind of salary and not a $1M salary?
Don't give me that crap about how Mario and Wayne are great players. There are a lot of great players out there and if its wrong for them to make that kind of money because according to all of you, they are greedy, then why is it okay for Mario and Wayne to do it?